The invention relates to a rail switch for vehicle tracking systems, particularly for magnetic levitation train tracking systems.
The most widely used vehicle tracking systems are rail systems which include--when seen in the direction of movement of the vehicle--a left rail and a right rail that are spaced from one another at the width of the track. Explained for the case of a first switch position for "straight ahead" and a second switch position for "turnout to the right," the standard points construction for such rail systems is the following: to shift from the first switch position to the second switch position, a curved piece of rail is elastically bent or pivoted about a vertical axis from the inside against the left piece of rail which goes straight ahead. At the same time, a right straight-ahead piece of rail is moved by elastically bending or pivoting it about a vertical axis away from the right turnout piece of rail toward the inside. Now, instead of the previous straight-ahead track, a track turning off to the right is available for the rail-bound vehicle. In the region of the so-called frog, that is the intersection between the left, turnout rails and the right straight-ahead rails, no switching is required because there the tracks need be interrupted only for a narrow slot which accommodates the tracking gears of the rail-bound vehicles and because these slots generally extend at an acute angle obliquely to the direction of the rails.
Magnetic levitation tracking systems pose considerably greater problems. If the point construction known for rail systems is taken over analogously, considerable interruptions in the remaining line construction result in the region of the frog. To overcome these problems, it is necessary, for example, to provide special points travel rails and special points travel wheels must be provided at the magnetic levitation vehicle. Moreover, measures must be taken there to ensure the lateral tracking of the magnetic levitation vehicles. All this results in a complicated and expensive points construction and generally in disagreeably low limits of the speed of the magnetic levitation vehicles when traveling over the points. It has already been contemplated to construct a switch for magnetic levitation train tracking systems in such a way that, for switching the points, the switch components for straight-ahead travel can be completely moved away to the side and can be replaced entirely by the switch components for turnout travel. Such a points construction requires much more lateral space which frequently is not available, particularly if several points are arranged in close spatial proximity. Moreover, components involving very large masses must be displaced laterally which makes the points structure heavy and expensive.